For Villanova, its season hung in the balance in Monday's national championship game, thanks to North Carolina guard Marcus Paige's circus-shot three-pointer that tied the game with less than five seconds left. But that shot was about to be upstaged.

With the clock ticking down, Ryan Arcidiacono brought the ball upcourt, and tossed back to Kris Jenkins. Jenkins let it go.

Apr. 2, 2016, 6:07 p.m.

Almost a week after Syracuse's improbable comeback against Virginia, the Orange again trailed big against North Carolina in the second half of Saturday's national semifinal game. Then, the lead started to vanish: a three-pointer, a dunk, a layup. When Malachi Richardson, last week's hero, hit another three-pointer, the lead was in single digits, at seven.

North Carolina was reeling. It was dominating inside, but was 0 for 13 on three-point attempts. At the other end, Marcus Paige tried another.

HOUSTON -- There came a time in the first national semifinal game — much of the second half, really — when a sense of decency had to be preserved.

It was the waning minutes of Villanova's seismic, historic 95-51 demolition of Oklahoma on Saturday. Villanova guard Phil Booth tore off on another breakaway. He chopped his feet, anticipating a dunk.

"Coach was telling him, 'Cool it down! Cool it down!'" Villanova forward Daniel Ochefu said. "We all understood at that point, we're not trying to disgrace anybody. We're not trying to make ourselves look like bad people."

Apr. 2, 2016, 2:58 p.m.

Villanova Pep Band piccolo player Roxanne Chalifoux performs with The Roots last year on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." (Douglas Gorenstein / NBC)

Piccolo Girl was among the last to know she’d become “Piccolo Girl.”

At some point while Roxanne Chalifoux was playing in the Villanova band that day, a year ago, her phone died. It was just as well. Villanova had just been upset in its second NCAA tournament game. Chalifoux was crushed.

Afterward, she was commiserating over dinner when highlights of the game flickered on. She didn’t want to watch.

Apr. 2, 2016, 2:56 p.m.

Syracuse seniors Trevor Cooney (10) and Michael Gbinije (0) are playing in their second Final Four, this time with the formidable task of playing North Carolina on Saturday. (Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)